This chapter introduces the term Chinese and the differences between Mandarin and Chinese dialects. There are seven major dialects: Northern dialect, Cantonese, Wu, Xiang, Gan, Min, and Hakka in China. The variation between these dialects causes comprehension problems in oral communication, and as such, Mandarin (Chinese in this book), which is based on the Northern dialect as a national standard language, has become popular in present-day China.